2009 World Food Day on Friday

Fayetteville, Ark.--For those of you interested in issues related to food, agriculture, and sustainable development, relevant topics considering the news lately, you might consider attending the 2009 World Food Day—Friday 16 October, 11 am Willard Walker Hall, hosted by the University of Arkansas.

The Applied Sustainability Center at the University of Arkansas will host and hold the 2009 World Food Day. The event, which is open to the public, will be held in the First Security Auditorium at Willard J. Walker Hall in the Sam M. Walton College of Business.

In addition, in honor of World Food Day, the University of Arkansas is sponsoring a can-goods food drive, “Together We CAN Food Drive” to which the public is encouraged to donate.

The theme of the teleconference is “Global Food Crisis: Opportunities, Responsibilities, and Solutions.” A panel of experts will discuss the burden of the economic downturn on the world’s poor and what can be done about it. The topic is quite relevant given all the recent news involving the United Nations and world hunger--for more information on those topics see the blog post immediately below this post.

Panelists include Max Finberg, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships; U.S. Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, co-chair of the National Hunger Caucus; and Joy Phumaphi, World Bank vice president and head of the bank’s Human Development Network. The panel discussion will take place from 11 a.m. to noon.

Following the panel discussion, Steve Boss, associate professor in environmental dynamics in the department of geology in the J. Williams Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, will discuss “A World Caloric Intake.” A Langar lunch will be provided. Langar as a Sikh tradition for feeding the hungry. The word “langar” literally means “free kitchen.” Every Sikh temple throughout the world has a Langar which differs from a soup kitchen.

Michele Halsell, director of the Applied Sustainability Center said, “The Langar is open to everyone. Volunteering in the cooking, serving and cleaning process is considered a form of active spiritual practice for devotees, but the service provided by the temple requires no religious obligations from its recipients. The spirit of inclusion and equality is reinforced by the kitchen’s adherence to vegetarianism, not because Sikhs are vegetarian, but because others who visit may be, and by serving no meat, they exclude nobody.”

In addition to participating in the teleconference, the public is encouraged to support the “Together We CAN Food Drive.” Drop-off locations include all Fayetteville fire stations; chambers of commerce in Fayetteville, Bentonville, Springdale, and Rogers; the University of Arkansas Bookstore; and Marvin’s IGA.

Collected food items will be donated to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, formerly Ozark Food Bank, for distribution to hungry families in Benton, Carroll, Madison and Washington counties.

Posted: 10/14/09